Heartbeating Echoes
by Utopian Moon
Summary: "You really don't know who I am, don't you?" she said."And who's that supposed to be?" "I'm Yuri." she said, and opened her eyes. It was a crimson color with a tomoe design. "Uchiha Yuri." Susuke and OC. She's not blood related.
1. Familiar Stranger

**CHAPTER 1: Familiar Stranger**

The wind was rushing ever so smoothly, while Sasuke and the Eight-tailed Jinchuuriki were looking into each other's eyes, trying to figure out what their next moves were going to be. The Eight-Tails, who was skilled with blades, moved first and jumped high into the air, attacking his opponent with much force. However, his enemy was not weak. They went into combat with skill and speed, and the next thing that happened was that the Jinchuuriki counter-attacked Sasuke's indefensible Chidori Blade. Sasuke was injured very much, with the blades sticking out of him.

But, before the Bijuu could strike his final blow, his comrades come in to save him, barely. They keep fighting with all their might. Then, the true power of the Jinchuuriki appears. Even Sasuke's powerful genjutsu wasn't enough to stop him. Eight-Tails transformed into his true form, the ox-octopus monster, which led to his downfall.

However, Juugo was able to merge with him and save him, for the time being. Then, Sasuke used Amaterasu to avenge the death of Suigetsu. The inextinguishable flames swallowed the Jinchuuriki and Karin. Sasuke used his other eye to stop the flames, and that was the defeat of the great Eight- Tails. However, such power gave him great pain and made his eyes bleed. As they walked toward the floating body, it twitched a little.

"**LARIAT!" **the Bijuu cried with his last burst of strength. The blow caught Sasuke off guard, and sent him flying off hitting the sides of one of the terrane. The Uchiha was already physically weakened and fell into unconsciousness.

Sasuke opened his eyes to a dim light.

"Where am I?" he looked around at his surroundings. He was lying in a bed, healed.

"You're safe now," a voice said. "You really took a hit in a fight didn't you?" A teenaged girl came into view with tied up black hair and shiny silver eyes. She was exceptionally beautiful even in the grimy surroundings. She placed a wet towel on his forehead.

"You should lie down and rest." the mysterious girl said.

"Where is this place?" Sasuke asked.

"My home well, actually, it's more of a temporary stay for me." It was a cabin at the bottom of the terrains, near the forest.

"Thank you for helping me, but I'll be taking my leave now. I need to get back to my team, now."

"You're not healed all the way, yet." she replied.

Sasuke wanted to get away from this girl who seems to already have taken a liking to him. He sat up on the bed to see that he had bandages around his waist and chest. The faster he's away from this fangirl the better he thought.

"I'm fine. And I'll be going." He stood up and got ready to take his things. "Thank you for helping me."

"You really don't know who I am, don't you?" she said.

"And who's that supposed to be?" he asked, not even looking at her.

The girl stood up from the chair next to the bed and stood in from of him. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I'm Yuri." she said, and opened her eyes. It was a crimson color with a strange design in it. "Uchiha Yuri."

**Hey guys! This is my first chapter of my first story, and I want to see if you guys like it or not. Please write and review. Oh, and I don't own Naruto. Please write anything you wish. Criticism is welcomed! Compliments are even more welcomed.__**


	2. Forgotten Memories pt1

**CHAPTER 2: Forgotten Memories pt 1**

Yuri stretched her hand towards Sasuke's forehead, and before he could say or do anything, her fingertips touched him. A violet glow emerged from her fingertips, so when she touched him he was stuck in what seem like a genjutsu.

"I see you've forgotten about me. I guess I just have to make you remember."

At that sudden moment, Sasuke's eyes blinded, and he ended up deep within his forgotten memories.

He woke up in what seemed like Konoha. It was a beautiful day with kids running around in the fields. These were the kids who he used to call friends.

'So this is my memory…' Sasuke thought. He walked around even more, and found the good days of Konoha. He walked around the familiar shops and houses. He also saw people, but much younger looking. Then he caught sight of a boy that looked like the younger version of himself. He wondered where the child was going, and followed him.

As he followed him, he saw himself walking through his old home, the Uchiha households. He even saw that the mark of the Uchiha Crest. As he looked around, he saw his old family members happy, as they did their work. He felt a deep pain, for he knew that they would soon be murdered by his brother.

The young Sasuke, who was about six or seven now, ran towards the nearby lake to practice is Fire style jutsu. He remembered the time where he eagerly wanted to learn this jutsu for his father. As Sasuke caught up with him, he saw that a person had already come here first.

"Who are you?" the young Sasuke asked.

"I'm Yuri." the girl answered. The older Sasuke watched this girl who looked like the smaller version of the girl who sent him here.

"Do you come here a lot?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, it helps relaxes me. Why did you come here?"

"I came to practice my jutsu.' he answered.

"Can I watch?" the girl asked.

"Okay," he said enthusiastically. He was excited to have someone watch him practice.

The scene started blurring, but it returned to the same scene. However, it showed a girl crying. The younger Sasuke came running into the scene.

"What's wrong Yuri?" Sasuke asked.

The crying girl quickly wiped her tears, and replied "It's nothing."

"I don't think so," Sasuke said. The older Sasuke who was still watching the scene, started to remember faintly what happened. The young girl looked up at him, and sighed.

"I guess I'll show you," she said. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes it showed a similar version of the Sharingan. Then, she quickly reopened them and started to cry a little.

"Wow, Yuri. You can already do the Sharingan. I'm so jealous," Sasuke said with joy.

"No, Sasuke. You're wrong. It's not the Sharingan; you can tell it's a little different. And when I showed it to my parents, I learned the truth."

"What truth?" he asked.

"Sasuke, I'm not really part of this clan, and never was. I was adopted and the only reason anyone took me in was because of this," she said, pointing to her eye. "I think it's starting to come back to me. I remember a walking into this village, fainting. Then someone did an inspection on me, which gave me great pain. I don't know how I even forgot it. So, I did the only thing I could think of, which was to come here." She looked down, and started crying silently.

Sasuke sat down next to her to try to comfort her. "I think you're a part of this clan, even if you're adopted. And I'll be there beside you if anyone says otherwise." he said.

"Really?" she asked. He nodded. "Thank you, Sasuke, you're a good friend." she turned toward him and hugged him. Sasuke sat there awkwardly taking the hug. Then she did something unexpected, and caught him off guard. She kissed him.

"I guess I'll see you later," she said, getting up. She giggled a little when she saw Sasuke sitting there just nodding his head, blushing.

Sasuke just sat there rubbing his cheek, his face showing the expression of surprise. Then, he got up and walked off, smiling to himself.

The scene blurred again and it showed the gates of Konoha. He saw the same Yuri a little older standing in front of the little older Sasuke bidding farewell.

"Hey Sasuke, I got permission from the Hokage to look for my real parents.'

"That's great," he replied softly.

"Hey, don't worry. I'll come back as soon as possible. Just for you." she smiled.

"Alright," he said, and then pulled her into a tight hug. She gave a look of surprise, but returned it. He let go, and she waved good-bye for the last time.

Sasuke was brought back to the dim-lit room, breathing hard. Yuri blinked her eyes and her eyes returned back to normal.

"You're … you're…." Sasuke stammered.

"Yes, I am. And you forgot." She said. "No matter how long I haven't seen you, I never forgot you, not even for a second." She reopened her eyes, which had a different pattern in it. This time, Sasuke was sucked into her memories.


	3. Forgotten Memories pt2

HEY!!!!! I thank all of you who wrote nice comments about me. It made me want to update like lightning!(However, I don't know if I can do that...heehee ^_^) I personally thank:

TheMythicalRareHyperGoth and santino =]

Well, I should just hurry up now. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!!!!! There I said it. Now on with the story!

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**CHAPTER 3: Forgotten Memories pt 2**

He woke up lying on the ground in Konoha in the bright morning. It was near the Uchiha households. He saw a girl walking towards her house. He walked through the door of the house, and saw her talking to her parents.

"Mother, Father, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" her mother asked.

"Where am I really from?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" her father asked.

"This," Yuri showed them her Sharingan. The parents gasped and exchanged glances. Yuri stopped and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, honey, but I guess we have to tell you the truth." her mother said. Her parents told her about how she was actually adopted at age of infancy. She was dropped off the gates of Konoha by a dying ninja.

"You're parents are still unknown," Yuri's father said. Yuri started crying and asked, "You never even thought to tell me the truth?"

"Dear," her mother said, "The truth would've hurt you."

"It's the lies that really hurt me," she said running out the door, crying.

It showed the same scene with Sasuke and Yuri by the lake. Then it showed the scene where Yuri was leaving Konoha. Yuri started walking towards a village that her relatives (aunt and uncle) were living. While she was walking, some rouge ninjas attacked. The guard ninjas were caught by surprise, and fell. Yuri started running towards the nearest shelter, but before that could happen, she was caught in a kunai. She fell to the ground with a _thump._ The attackers left and the injured ninjas saw that she was dead. They left back to the village limping, about to announce the death of Yuri.

He was starting to remember what happened after that.

_Eight Years Ago…_

_Sasuke was happily walking to the lake wondering if Yuri was going to be there._

"_I hope those rumors were true…" Sasuke said to himself. He heard that the ninjas who took Yuri to her village were coming back._

_He arrived at the lake to see that she wasn't there. Then one of his friends came along to him._

"_Hey Sasuke," he said "I heard that some ninjas are coming back. Maybe your girlfriend is back." he teased._

"_She's not my girlfriend!" Sasuke said at the already running boy. Despite that Yuri wasn't his girlfriend, he still couldn't smile at the fact that she had come back. He walked over to the gates of Konoha._

_Many people were gathered there for a reason, even the Hokage, who was at the front. The injured ninja were healed almost fully announcing something. _

"_We regret to inform you, that on our way to the village of Yuri's relatives. We were attacked by rouge ninja who have captured and killed Yuri. She is now dead." one of the ninjas said. Yuri's adoptive mother started crying. Sasuke was in the back of the group, but could hear those words just as clearly as anyone else. He fell to the ground; his world shattered. On the outside he was too shocked to comprehend anything. However on the inside, he was crying for the loss of his true friend._

_About a year later, the incident of his clan dying occurred. That was when he snapped. He was too angry at his brother that it had blinded him. He convinced himself that it was his brother who attacked Yuri that night._

Sasuke was sucked back into her memories once again however, this time it was just flashes.

Yuri was running towards Sakura and Ino who were in front of their house. They walked in, and just chatted and hung out. They did each other's hair, and laughed.

Yuri was lying under a tree watching the clouds with Shikimaru, not having a care in the world. They were watching the clouds go by…

Yuri was now jumping up and down, trying to catch something with a butterfly net in the woods. Shino was just watching in the background. He could've been laughing, but if he did, he made sure no one saw.

Then she was with Hinata, reading a book and training a little.

Then the scene flashed towards Yuri and Kiba playing with Akamaru. The little dog seemed to like her and even let her pet him.

Then it went to Ichiraku's with two little kids eating ramen. Their feet didn't even touch the ground, but they had enough stomache to hog down all their food and still have room left for more. They laughed at each other for their childish antics.

The last scene showed Yuri with Sasuke just enjoying each other's presence, holding each other's hand. She smiled at him, and looked across the lake.

Yuri sent him back to reality, and Sasuke ended up panting and sweating. Yuri rubbed and blinked her eyes, which were getting too stressed from using her powers.

"Now you know," she said. "That I tried to come back to my real home, to my true friends, but you left."

"What's done is done, Yuri. I can't change the past."

"You left me, and the place that was the most precious to me. You threw it all away like it meant nothing to you. You were my best friend, and allowed me to make new friends. Couldn't you go back?" she said, on the verge of tears.

"I can't go back now. Nobody will accept me," he said.

"Do you think anyone cares about that? Everyone, has been searching for you so hard, and you think they will just dismiss you?" she said tears streaming down her face. He just looked down.

"I love you, Susuke, but…"she started, "…But, there's something I need to confirm first. Follow me." she said. She walked out of the house with Sasuke following her. They walked into the woods for a while until a large building appeared. She walked inside with the door creaking open. Their footsteps echoed in the abandoned building just like Sasuke's memories have been echoing in his mind and heart. She quickly turned to face him.

"Sasuke, this is where we will decide our future. I can't forgive you for leaving me and everything important to me so easily." She took out a long sword that glowed with chakra.

"We shall settle this now, Sasuke." And with that she charged.


	4. Surprise Battle

Hey Guys. Another Upload is here! I hope you guys enjoy it! And I don't own Naruto, just this story. Well, I'm shutting up so her you go! ;]

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**CHAPTER 4: SURPRISE BATTLE **

Yuri looked straight into Sasuke's eyes. Her own were a serious tone that showed a hint of hatred. She fought with all her weapons: kunai, shuriken, chakra strings, and her chakra sword. Sasuke was just blocking her attacks and keeping on the defense. He got out his own kunai that he brought with him and just kept blocking her fast attacks.

"Is that all you can do?" Yuri asked when they were in close combat.

"I don't want to hurt you." he replied.

"Well, that'll lead you to your downfall." she said, and she pushed his weapon with her own and landed a few steps back. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Sasuke, if that's all you will do, then I will force you to go to your full potential to fight me. Even to the death." she opened her eyes and the design on it was the shape of a double sword. All of a sudden he had trouble breathing. He fell to his knees panting and gasping for breath. Yuri's eyes went to a single sword design. Sasuke felt fine, and got up. He looked straight into her vicious eyes, and his Sharingan turned on all by itself.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"I have practiced my Nin-jutsu. It is part of my power."

She lunged toward him, and he automatically parried her attack. He pushed her toward the walls as they were fighting with kunai. Yuri looked behind her and saw the wall just a few feet away from her. She pushed him off and ran toward the wall. She pushed herself off the wall and threw shuriken in mid-air. It had precise aim toward Sasuke. However he wasn't someone to get off guard so easily. He blocked the shuriken easily with his weapon. Yuri landed perfectly a few feet from Sasuke.

"I guess you're not to be underestimated." Yuri said.

"Same with you," Sasuke replied.

"I guess it's time to take things to another level." Yuri had hand signs and blew out fire. It was different from Sasuke's Fireball Jutsu. When she blew hers, Sasuke did the same. He blew a giant, scarlet fireball with Yuri's being the same size, but a dark violet. It went for a few minutes, until they both went out. Yuri panted a little, but regained her composure.

"Sasuke, why don't you come back?" Yuri asked.

"I can't," he replied "I can't go back. It's impossible."

"Then I have no choice," Yuri replied sadly.

She blew another fireball, but much smaller. She took out some kind of weapon from her pouch. She spun herself real quickly on the top part of her foot, with her heel not touching the ground. With the weapons in both of her hands, she coated it with chakra and it caught fire, making a shield around her like Neji's Eight Trigram Jutsu. Then fire started spewing from within her shield. The fire was molded into sharp shapes like knives, shuriken, kunai, and other dangerous things.

Sasuke learned to dodge them, but couldn't do it forever. Yuri just couldn't seem to stop. When he started to grow tired he took out his lightning blade. It flowed with his chakra; his Chidori. It made the noise of 1,000 little twittering birds. He charged towards Yuri's shield while dodging her offense, and cut through her shield. The impact was so hard that it knocked them both back.

"You are a great ninja," Yuri panted.

"I could say the same about you," he replied.

"But," *pant pant* "It won't be enough to defeat me." She slowly got up and walked up against a wall to keep her balance. She took a deep breath, and stood up straight towards the middle of the room. She closed her eyes and started fading until she vanished. A dark figure came around a pillar walking towards where the other Yuri had vanished.

"Are you ready? 'Cause I'm ready to take you down." Her eyes turned a darker scarlet with a black sword shape in the middle. She ran towards him with so much speed the normal eye couldn't follow her. Even with the Sharingan, Sasuke had a little trouble keeping track of where she was, and blocking her attacks, and coming back to attack her which she easily dodged. Her defense and offense was incredible. Sasuke was thrown back toward the wall, from a jutsu, making a large crack in it. Sasuke got up, and lifted his hand up. The Chidori glowed in his hand and ran towards her.

She held her ground, and got ready for what was coming. But a few feet before he was near enough to attack her, it stretched out into a long blade and pinned her to the wall behind her. Blood spewed from her stomach and her mouth. Her black hair that was tied up was now mostly hanging limp over her face. The rest was barely still tied in a loose ponytail.

Sasuke quickly retracted his jutsu, and also regretted it. Her body fell to the ground. He walked slowly over to the injured girl. Her head was bent with her bangs covering her eyes. When he was just a few feet away from her, he saw a twitch in her face. Her lips curled upward on one side.

"That hurt, Sasuke." She lifted her head up. Sasuke saw black flame marks across her face. "It hurts but not as much as what you did to me when you left." Her injuries were healing at a fast pace and soon all that was left, was a blood stain on the floor.

"Curse mark…" Sasuke whispered.

"Yes, but not the same as yours. On the verge of death all those years ago, back when I went looking for my family, an old man had saved me, but with a price. He put this cursed seal on me, and I can not go to the thing that was the most precious to me, my home and friends. Unless I am brought back by one of them, I can't go. And you threw those away like they never meant anything to you. It's time to pay." She charged at him with even more speed and power. She was throwing jutsu after jutsu, and combined them with the most deadly of strategies.

'I can't keep up any longer.' Sasuke thought. 'I have no choice to use it.' He closed his eyes and when he opened them, they bled with power; the Mangyekeo Sharingan. But even with his trump card, he was barely managing to keep up. Gen-jutsu doesn't really seem to work on her, and she was definitely able to keep up with Nin-Jutsu and Tai-Jutsu. They were evenly matched, and both were losing lots of energy.

Yuri played out her last jutsu which Sasuke wasn't ready for. He closed his eyes preparing for the worse, but when he opened his eyes, he was feeling a strong emotion; a strong need to live. When he opened his eyes Amaterasu appeared. Large black flames engulfed her right after Sasuke was hit with her own jutsu. The impact of hers threw him to the wall. The wall behind him was cracked and smoking. He almost lost conciseness if the voice of Yuri's wasn't screaming in pain.

Barely managing to open his eyes, he saw a body on the ground being burned up by black flames. It took up all his strength to extinguish them, which took a while. His eyes returned to the normal ebony ones which were filled with tiredness and grief. He looked straight forward at Yuri's body, mangled, burnt flesh. He felt terrible and sorry.

But then, her body twitched and she moved her arms, which weren't steady, and almost fell again. She kept her head up, and dragged herself closer to Sasuke. Her eyes were filled with strong negative emotion, and Sasuke didn't have enough energy to move. She kept coming towards him slowly. 'How did she even have enough strength left to even move?!' Sasuke thought. She must've felt a great amount of hate to do so. Sasuke kept staring at her as she edged closer and closer.

"How could you do that to me?" Yuri asked. "You were my best friend. I thought they meant more to you. I thought your home was _important_. Even if no one was going to look for me I had all hope that you would find me." She was just inches away from him now. "How could…" Her voice cracked. She was close enough for him to see her tears. She just kept coming towards him, and was just inches away from his face now. "How could I have fallen in love with you?" Before Sasuke could do anything, she kissed him right there in that battlefield. She closed her eyes, and he did the same.

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Wow, that was a long chapter. I'm also proud of myself for writing all that. It was my first time writing an action sequence like that. If you can give me any pointers you know what to do!

Until next time folks! ^__^


	5. Favor

**I'm so sorry it took so long to update, but I had a hard time trying to get the story going again. I also was kinda busy, but ON WITH THE STORY! Thank you for your patient waiting!**

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**CHAPTER 5: Favor **

It was a few moments before midnight and the night creatures came out. They were both too tired to move an inch. They decided to sleep right there in the practice dome. Most of the walls around were cracked and the dim-lit room allowed them to go to sleep. Yuri slept near Sasuke, her head resting on his shoulder, and finally dreamt the first peaceful dream in years. Sasuke had a difficult time processing what happened but, thought it was best to figure it all out in the morning.

The next morning, Yuri woke up first with many pains in her body. She sat up, wincing. She healed herself with her special jutsu. After many pains were healed with her violet chalkra, she soon got up slowly out the doors, quietly so she wouldn't wake up any sleeping people, namely Sasuke. She walked out the doors and took a small walk outside.

The sky was a tinge of orange against a dark blue sky. Rippling colors shone in the east. She took a breath of the morning air. She could hear the little chattering of forest animals and the chirping of blue jays and other winged creatures. She arrived to a little clearing and just stood there taking in the beautiful morning. The sun started crawling up the hills and mountains and the sky starting turning paler into a sky-blue color. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt arms go around her shoulders and her eyes flew open. She turned toward the person behind her.

"Oh, it's just you Sasuke."

"Who did you think it would be?" he asked with a smile. "What are you doing?"

"Just getting some fresh air," she replied. "It's been so long since I've had a good-night's sleep." She turned around with his arms still firmly around her shoulders and neck.

"It was probably because of me, wasn't it?" he asked quietly. She quickly turned to face a saddened Sasuke. "No, of course not. It's because I wanted to see you and my home; my _real _home. The place where I've found my true friends," she looked up to him. "Where I found you." She hugged him and he pulled her closer to him. He held her in his arms for a while before she pulled away and grabbed his arm. She started into a fast walk and pulled him along with her.

"Where are you taking me?" Sasuke asked.

"You'll see." she said quickly walking around some trees and down a narrow slope. She kept walking until she ended up in a small clearing, surrounded by trees and a small waterfall.

"I used to come here a lot when I had troubles." She let go of his hand and ran to the base of the waterfall. She turned to look at him with a smile. She motioned for him to come.

Sasuke saw her and saw how amazingly beautiful she really was. When she was young, she would always be in a happy mood and had the power to make someone feel relaxed around her and cheerful. That's why there wasn't anyone in Konoha who disliked her. Sasuke had forgotten this feeling of her being around. When he looked back at her smiling face, his heart skipped a beat.

Her long hair shimmered in the light and her long bangs curled around the side of her face. Her smile was enough to make a lonely stranger cheerful, and her dark amethyst eyes were able to make Sasuke lost in them. Her whole form was glowing with beauty. When he finally awoke from his daze, he walked over to her.

He was a foot away from her and asked, "What is it?" She gestured for him to come even closer. He came about and inch from her face. She looked him straight in the eye and held his hand. When she said nothing, and he was about to step back, she made her move.

Sasuke was caught off guard when she pushed him into the water. Yuri started laughing and said through her giggles, "Sorry, Sasuke. I just couldn't resist." She was still laughing when Sasuke was dripping wet from the fall. Then he got an idea and gave a half-smile. Yuri stopped laughing, and was about to brace herself for what was coming, but it was too late.

Yuri resurfaced with her hair covering most of her face. Now it was Sasuke's turn to laugh. Yuri pulled her wet hair back to talk.

"That wasn't funny you know," she pouted.

"Sure," he said sarcastically.

"You know what?" she said as she attacked him, "I got you," and they both were pulled underwater. Yuri kept her arms tightly hugged around Sasuke. Then Sasuke swam close to the shore with Yuri in his arms and slowly walked out, both dripping wet. He looked at her, "Now, I've got you." He set her down on the green clover-covered floor and lied down next to her. Yuri threw out her arms and gave a satisfying sigh.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for this day."

"I've only dreamt of this day," he said looked upward at the sky, and then Yuri spoke.

"Did you ever think of me back then?"

He blinked and took a deep breath. "After, they announced that you were dead, it was just too hard… too hard to think of you anymore." He looked back into her eyes with a desperate expression. "But I never forgot you," he said quickly when Yuri made a sad expression. "When I feel the most happiness, you seem to enter my thoughts occasionally." Yuri's lips slowly turned upward.

"Really?" He nodded. He turned his head so he was facing her. Their eyes locked and they just laid there getting lost in each other's eyes for several minutes.

"Do you know that all those years ago, I loved you as my best friend?" Yuri finally said.

"So did I," he replied.

"But now," Yuri continued in a whisper, "I don't anymore."

Sasuke's heart felt grief and guilt. He couldn't even stammer out an apology.

"Now, I love you even more," she said. "Do you feel the same?" she asked. Sasuke's eyes lit up and his heart flew. "Yes. Yes, I do." he answered.

"Oh, good." Yuri let out a happy sigh and a small giggle. "I was hoping you did. Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For just being you. For being here with me. For saving me."

"No…. It was you who saved me."

"Well, there was something I wanted to ask a favor of you."

"Anything in my power." he replied.

"Well now… I don't know, I mean… It's in your power, but may not be possible." She looked away from his face.

"What is it?" he asked.

She looked straight into his eyes, giving a serious tone.

"I want to go back to Konoha. With you."

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**So guys, what do ya think? Is it alright? I know it a little boring, but it'll get better soon. If you got any suggestions please review it. By the way do you know how to get the reviews allowed to everybody? If so write it down. Thank you!**


	6. Persuasion

**CHAPTER 6: Persuasion**

Sasuke looked at her with an expressionless face. It was enough to make anyone crack and take back what they said, but not Yuri. When she wanted to, she could be as tough and as stony-faced as Sasuke.

After a long period of silence, Sasuke finally answered.

"I can't do that." he said simply.

"Why?" she asked with an expression filled with shock, sadness, and anger. "Why can't you go back to where we belong? To our _home_."

"I left. It's not my home anymore. I'm a rouge ninja now. Didn't you know that?"

By now they were up and standing face within inches from each other, trying to convince the other about their own wishes.

"So many things happened while you were gone," Sasuke argued, "So many things changed. It's not the same as it used to be."

"Like what?" she put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side that showed she wanted a good answer.

"Back then I was so desperate for power so I could kill my brother, I risked my life for power from a source I really couldn't trust. Now, I even killed Orochimaru afterwards, just to de-attach myself from him."

Yuri still eyed him with thin eyes, giving him an angry look.

"After I had the chance to kill my brother, I was told the real truth about him. Everything I knew, everything I felt towards him was a lie. IT WAS ALL WRONG! I…" he couldn't say much more to her. He turned around and continued in a quiet voice.

"I did the worst thing I could ever do in my life, now that I know his true intentions. I could've lived my life with a family; even if it was one person. If my mission before I met you went right, I would've become an Akatski. I would've also destroyed Konoha."

They both were silent for a while, and it was all quiet except for water rushing nearby and a faint rustle here and there. They both had their head bent down, and you could hardly see their eyes. Then Yuri finally spoke in a small quiet voice.

"You think you're the only one with problems?" Sasuke turned around to look at Yuri.

"You think you're the only one? I've had my fair share of trouble too, pal. I barely even

knew my parents before I found out they were dead! And while I was going to see my

parents, the same people who killed my parents try to kill me!"

Yuri stopped, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and started again in a calmer voice.

"I don't have a real family anymore. The only people family to me was people from my home, Konoha. The true meaning of family is not who your blood runs through but, who you care and love. I can't go back home, without you taking me because you're part of my home too!"

Sasuke just stared at her with a surprised face. He never knew she had all this inside of her waiting to explode.

"Please, Sasuke…. Please go back with me." She was on the verge of tears now. "I've been waiting for this day for so long. This is the only reason I still wanted to live. Please, let's go back home."

"Yuri…. I can't."

"WHY?" she replied, tearing up.

"Everything I felt toward my brother was all a lie and he's dead because of me now. I can't even tell him how sorry I am. I thought he hated our family and our home, but it was all a lie. It's all the fault of the village you call home. I'm sorry, but I can't go back to the place I feel hatred for."

"Then there's no other choice." Yuri replied quietly. "I guess I'm going to have to fight you."

"What?"

"Even to where all your bones will be broken. Even if I have to put you in a hospital. Sasuke, I know what happened because of this curse on me. I have the ability to see things when I'm not there. I know what happened to you, but I'm not going to let you off. You are going home with me or I'm going to die trying to get you there."

"No, don't-"he said.

"It's too late. I can't compromise. We're on opposite sides of this situation and it looks like you're not going to change your mind. Sasuke, get ready."

"No don't do this. Don't fight again."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke…" she brushed off a tear and regained her composure. Then she used a jutsu to knock him out.

Sasuke woke up in the forest, in a clearing. A few feet away was a lake surrounded by walls of rock like a canyon or a valley. He could also here a waterfall nearby. This felt strangely familiar…. Yuri's back was toward him and the sun was high in the sky. He stood up and Yuri turned around.

"So, you're finally up. My jutsu won't last too long so I couldn't take you back to Konoha yet." She sounded so expressionless it was a little scary. He would rather have her explode than her being so calm.

Without warning, she started attacking. It was similar to last time, but she made sure to be too predictable. He kept seeing these different versions of Sharingan he never saw before. She had the advantage in surprise, it seemed. However, in power and strength, Sasuke had a little more advantage.

Sasuke dodged her attacks and blocked with the only weapons he had right now, and those were shuriken, kunai, and his Chidori blade. He had a few other things up his sleeve he didn't use yet though….

Yuri brought another weapon; something that looked like a huge jagged razor with a thick chain. She jumped into the air, with it, and pulled on the chain hard. The chain led to shooting many shuriken and kunai that were part of the jagged end of the razor.

Sasuke dodged many of them by moving to the right. He kept moving until it stopped. Just when he thought he was in the clear, he saw something out of the corner of his eye for a millisecond; she was behind him with her fist covered in chakra. She threw a hard punch (similar to Sakura), but Sasuke barely was able to dodge it by moving his head.

'Too close,' he thought. 'If I keep this up, I might actually get beaten. I have no choice.'

He activated his Sharingan, and his movements were faster. H was able to get behind Yuri and give her a shock with his Chidori, which the impact threw her across the rocky floor and into a few trees.

She slowly stood up and wiped the blood from a cut near her mouth. She didn't mess with the blood that was slowly pouring out of her side where she got hit with the jutsu. 'So, he's finally starting to take things seriously. Good…' she thought as she got up.

"Please Yuri, let's stop fighting." he yelled from across the field. "It hurts me to fight you."

Yuri wobbled a little still trying to gain her balance. "Heh, you think I can do this easily? Do you think I _enjoy _hurting you?"

He stopped to think about this new realization.

"Do you… *cough* have any idea how much this is hurting me?" She reached back to the clearing, about five feet away from him and fell to her knees."

'Darn, I'm still not fully healed for this since the last battle.' she thought. She took a deep breath and tried to stand, but she ended up just her on her back.

She was still breathing hard when she started talking again. "It hurts me to attack you. Every weapon thrown at you is ripping my heart out little by little. Do you think I don't feel anything when hurt my best friend? The one that has been through the good and bad times with me to feel like family to me? The one who understood me the most?"

Sasuke's expression showed guilt and sorrow, but Yuri couldn't' see it now.

"I just keep telling myself that I'm actually helping you, and it's the best choice I have but…." She put her arm over her eyes, and let out a deep sigh. "but I don't think I can push myself any longer." she put her arm down and turned her head to the side. "Just do what you want now; attack, leave, anything. I'm not going to stop you anymore." She was on the verge of tears, ashamed that she gave up so soon, and that she would have to wait again to go home.

She closed her eyes, but suddenly opened them when she heard the sound of metal hitting the ground. She soon saw Sasuke drop next to her and eyeing her with the most grief and guilt it made herself sad. Her held her up in an almost-sitting position and held her in her arms. She tried to hug him back but it caused her to wince in great pain. Sasuke took notice and realized how much blood she has lost.

"Yuri, I'm so sorry." He choked out.

"It's okay. I forced you to; it's not like you intentionally wanted to kill me or anything." The pain grew, and she flinched and grabbed a hold of her side. Her hand glowed with her chakra to heal it. "Besides, I'll get better soon," _Another pain shot through her_. "I hope." After a minute of trying to heal herself, she stopped and leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed a little and she took deep breaths. "Just let me lie down here. You don't need to look after me."

Sasuke was still holding her back up. Instead laying her down like she asked, he put his other arm under her knees and carried her up (bridal style). He walked back to where she lived, while Yuri was too tired to argue, so all she did was smile before she lost consciousness.


	7. Leaving Behind

**CHAPTER 7: Leaving Behind**

Yuri woke up and saw she was lying in a bed. She looked at her familiar surroundings and saw she was back home.

"So, you're awake." Sasuke said, not even looking up, tending to a fire. When she sat up, he turned to look at her.

"You really shouldn't strain yourself; you just got out of battle." he said monotonously.

"Yeah, but it doesn't really matter, right?" but a pain shot up in her side of her abdomen. She grabbed at her side which was neatly bandaged. She looked at him questioningly.

"Hmph, no big deal. I owe you one anyway."

She gave a smile, and as quick as a flash, she was behind him, with her arms around his shoulders hugging him to death.

"Awww, you're so nice!" she giggled.

"Hey, Yuri! Stop that!"

Yuri abruptly stopped and he turned around to look at her. Her face was unreadable, until a smile appeared on her lips.

"You haven't called my name out like that in a long time." She turned to him and added,

"It reminds me of the good times back then, doesn't it Sasuke?" She gave out a small laugh and hugged him even tighter. Sasuke knowing it was useless to fight her off, just smiled to himself. It did remind him of back then, when problems were so simple…

"Yuri, you got to take it easy. You're injured by the way, remember?"

"This seems familiar, except wasn't this how you were when I found you? I feel bad that I fought you right after though,"

"It's okay. I heal fast."

She smiled again. "That's right. You're the great Sasuke Uchiha. The child prodigy; the one that girls scream and swoon over."

He rolled his eyes in response. "Whatever" he muttered.

"What? I would think that one would like all the attention," She said putting an arm around his neck and the other poking his cheek. She really enjoyed teasing him. After all it was one thing she was privileged in doing.

"You know I don't like that kind of attention."

"Oh sure," She said sarcastically.

"Seriously. I only need attention from one person in particular."

"Really?" She questioned. "And who would that be?"

"Do I really have to say it? I think you already know who it is."

"Aww, you're so cute, Sasuke. Who knew you could be like that. I only wished I could see the faces of the other girls if you said that to them."

It was dark out now, and the two sitting on the bed were laughing and teasing each other like they have so many years ago.

"Yuri, you should really go get some rest."

"Fine, if it'll make you happy." She went and lied down on the bed with a warm blanket covering her. She looked and said more to herself than to anyone else, "This feels like a dream." However, Sasuke heard and turned to face her.

"It feels like a dream…." she whispered as she closed her eyes. "I've wished for this so long. I can't believe it's actually happening."

"Me too." he murmured, and started going outside

"Sasuke?" He turned.

"Yeah?"

"Could you reconsider my favor?"

He looked at her straight in the eye and said in a small voice, "Maybe." and walked outside.

The dark night had already swept over the sky. Outside the sounds of chirping crickets and cicadas were being heard. Yuri was lying awake in bed focusing on the ceiling. I small flame flickered on a candle, lighting up the dark room.

'_Home. It's so close…'_

She gave a small happy sigh, realizing all the years of patience were going to finally pay off. The possibility excited her so much, she couldn't go back to sleep. She sat up and flipped the covers over, and swung her legs over the bed and started walk out the door.

Her temporary 'home' was located in a small field and was surrounded by woods and terrains. It was nice place to stay. It even had a small river that led to a waterfall and a lake, where Yuri had showed him not too long ago.

A nice breeze filled the air, and as she looked up and she saw the pale full moon giving a good source of light, so she could clearly see the person standing not too far off. She slowly walked to the person and stood behind him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." he replied. "You should be getting rest, especially after all the fighting."

"I'm fine. Hey, I'm still considered an Uchiha, right? I've been near the Uchihas long enough to act like one. I feel perfectly fine."

"Right…" he rolled his eyes and sat down; she did the same thing. They sat in silence enjoying the nice breeze and calming night. After what felt like a few minutes, Yuri broke the silence.

"Those battles… I don't think I would want to take them back."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if I had a chance to go back in time and take back those battles I don't think I would want to." Sasuke just gave her a questioning look.

"I feel like I got to know you more through this; something that can't just be said. You've changed into a strong reliable shinobi."

Sasuke looked down in guilt. He was a missing-nin, a rouge ninja. He wasn't reliable at all.

"I know what happened. I already know you left the village. You had a goal, and did anything to achieve it. It broke my heart seeing you do that, but I had hope. You see, you never gave up. Just by knowing that, I didn't want to give up hoping. You're the reason I even had hope of going back. The reason I lived my life everyday since the incident."

It became silent again, and Yuri stood up. "I'm sorry. That was unnecessary. I'll just go back." As she turned a hand caught her wrist. She looked back at him, seeing his eyes not revealing what emotion he was feeling.

"Don't leave just yet." He stood up in front of her looking straight in her eyes. Then he caught her unexpectedly and pulled her into his arms. "Sasuke…what?..."

"Why?" he whispered so quietly that Yuri barely heard it.

"What?" she said utterly confused.

"Why, Yuri?" he said sadly. "Why do you always see the good in me? I'm not as great as you think I am. I hurt you in so many ways, and yet you still stay here with me, caring for me. The innocent me has left years ago. I can't see myself as the person you think I am. Why don't you hate me?"

She blinked for a moment and looked at him and answered.

"Sasuke, you have done so many kind things to me that I remember from so long ago. I feel I need to believe in you the same way you did for me. Even though you think that kind person is gone, I still see him. I saw him through our battles. Sasuke, you know I could never hate you. Not after what you've done for me."

She put her hand on his cheek and said quietly, "I see that person even now. 'My protector,' I used to think of you as." She hugged him lightly and added, "And I'll always think of you as the person I always knew as."

She pulled away and asked, "Sasuke would you please go back to Konoha with me?"

He paused for a minute before saying "yes".

Yuri packed a few things when she woke up. Outside was still dark with the sun resting upon the horizon. She didn't have many things so it was able to fit all in one big bag. She put it down against the bed and walked outside.

The cool morning breeze woke up her senses and she inhaled a deep breath.

'_I'm finally going home. It's finally here.'_ She smiled and couldn't help but let a tear run down her face. _'It's been so long… I wonder how everyone's doing.'_

She headed back inside, but found Sasuke outside the door looking at her. She quickly wiped her tears, and said, "I see you're up really early."

"You too." he said nonchalantly. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, of course." she said getting her stuff from inside.

"Well, let's go then." and with that, they headed toward the direction of Konoha. But, little did they know that Konoha was being attacked right at that moment by an extremely powerful enemy.


End file.
